End of tax season trip to Florida

Well, I made it through another busy tax season, so to relax & recharge, i booked a trip to see my friend matt's place in naples, florida. it was my first time in the southeast US, and i had time to do some golfing, meet matt's friends, spend a day at the beach, and watch about 5 movies.

the most surprising thing about florida was the screened-in backyards. the second most surprising thing was the alligators in nearly every water hazard on the golf course.

This is the alligator that hangs out in the pond below matt's place.

Can you spot the alligator? It looks like a log floating in the water.

On the beach in Naples, FL.

We're really doing it Harry!

Our flight to Europe has been booked! August 2nd - August 16th! There's no backing out now! Get your souvenir requests in early for best results!

Mountain Biking on a Real Mountain

I decided to give real mountain biking a try today. Our friend Jason and I went up in some nearby hills. It's really steep right away, and I thought I was going to throw up after only about 10 minutes. After settling my stomach I was able to make it up the first hill and some others, but needless to say, it helps to be in a lot better shape. Sitting in a chair all week doesn't prepare you very well for one day of exercise. But it was fun to get out and enjoy our perfect weather - 75 and sun.

Shawn pushing up the hill

Jason waiting for me again....

Token dog picture of Mac literally hanging out.

busy season....

Not much time to post these days, but we hope you all had a great Valentine's Day. Mac enjoyed his rawhide heart.

Sam, Carl, Dave, and Sarah Visit Palm Springs

Sam (Sarah's sister) came to visit us the 2nd week of January with her boyfriend Carl and their friends Dave & Sarah. Below is a few pics from their time out here.

Dave, Sarah, Carl (with grapefruit), and Sam enjoying the hot tub on a cold nite.

Glasswork at the Palm Springs art museum.

Sam and Carl at the Pacific Ocean.

Sam and Sarah demonstrating the love between sisters.

Christmas pics 4

More presents waiting for us when we returned to PS.

Mac fighting for his present.

Air Force 1 in Palm Springs to pick up Gerald Ford.

Christmas pics 3

Family photo with Sarah's side & Gma & Gpa Fowler.

Sarah's cousin Jess with Annika & Abby.

The Uncle Bill & Aunt Jody (hosted the Christmas gathering) and son Danny w/Gparents.

Shawn is inspired by his Wolverine gifts.

Now that's a good lure!

Christmas pics 2

Dad & the salsa incident - "Who left the lid off!?!"

Mom, Sarah, Carl, Sam, & Spencer downtown Mpls for the Holidazzle Parade.

Opening presents Christmas Eve.

More presents on Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve service at Wooddale - the church we were married in.

Christmas pics

Sarah and Radar at Mom & Dad Tiede's house

Shawn's sister Audra & boyfriend Tim at their apartment in Uptown

Sarah chatting with Gma & Gpa Fowler at their house

Everyone holds the door for the guy with the camera!

Shawn with some former Grant Thornton co-workers downtown Mpls.

Mom & Dad having fun in Palm Springs!

Mom & Dad Norton arrived in Palm Springs on Wednesday the 13th, and we've been doing a lot of fun things so far - below are some pictures...

We decided to head for the ocean the first day they arrived to take advantage of some great weather. Dad learned to surf and boogie-board, and Mom enjoyed the warm sand of the Carlsbad beach. Above are Shawn and Dad both getting up on their surfboards.

Here's the only picture we got of Dad actually standing on the surfboard, although it did happen a couple times on the waves.

Friday Mom, Dad, Mac, and Shawn went hiking on the Lykken Trail above Palm Springs. We all got some good exercise and enjoyed great weather.

On Saturday Shawn, Mac, & Dad hiked all the way to Murray Peak, a huge climb with great views at the top. It was a little hazy so the pics weren't great, but here's one of Dad and Mac at the top.

Sarah and Shawn at Shield's Date Garden in Indio, CA about 20 miles from Palm Springs. We all enjoyed our first date shakes and learned a little about how dates are grown and where they come from. Then we went to El Mexacali Cafe for some real Mexican food - Shawn had a dish with cactus in it!

Trent Visits Palm Springs

My buddy Trent came all the way from Moorhead, MN to visit us this weekend. Sunday we went to Joshua Tree Nat'l Park for some rock climbing and sightseeing, then Monday we went surfing in Carlsbad, CA. Since we didn't want his camera getting sandy we don't have any pics, but I can confirm that Trent is officially a surfer!

Trent w/Salton Sea in very distant hazy background.

Shawn & Trent on top of Cyclops Rock.

Trent struggling to hang on to Cyclops Rock on the way down!

Open CPU Surgery

About a month ago I decided that our computer needed upgrading, after it didn't have enough horsepower (technically speaking) to burn a photoshow DVD. After shopping around, I decided to try and save a few bucks by building a new computer myself. So after a month of varying stages of heartache, despair, and frustration, my patience has finally paid off and I have a high-speed machine that will hopefully last me another six years....I guess I only saved money if my time is worth nothing, but these are the sort of projects guys resort to when they rent - no home improvement projects to waste time on....

Thanksgiving Feast

Our first Thanksgiving without family around turned out to be a filling experience. Sarah successfully cooked her first turkey, and Shawn watched football, ate, watched more football, and ate some more. Just like the pilgrims!

Picture Happiness

As you can see from the large number of pictures posted below, I have discovered the answer to my picture-posting problems: Firefox! It is a free internet browser that is faster and more stable than Microsoft's version. Expect more frequent posts as I am no longer limited by my software! Hooray for capitalism!

Bryce Canyon National Park - 11/9/06

For my birthday, I decided to take a couple days off and go see the national parks in south-east Utah.

Driving makes the dog incredibly tired.

A man-made arch on the way into the park.


Mac, Shawn, and Sarah arriving at Bryce.

Bryce Canyon.

Our first night of cold-weather camping. The lack of daylight makes it a lot harder to see as much as you'd like. Then our lantern mantle gave out, so we had to use flashlights to cook dinner. Of course we have the mantles that you can't find at gas stations.

Bryce the next morning - we survived the cold despite having frozen noses.